Sunday, June 22, 2008

Has the DAP lost its way?

"I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men with a favourable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption, it is the other way, against the holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
- John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton (Lord Acton)


Yin and yang.

As I mentioned in my previous (and more uplifting) post Omnia Vincit Jambuism I get to like a bloke I didn’t before, but I am disappointed with a group I had admiration for.

Alas, this second post is about the latter, the gloomy bit.

The Democratic Action Party of Malaysia (DAP)!

I have in general supported the DAP because of its ideology of equality, meritocracy, integrity, good governance, transparency, accountability and democratic process as well as the resolute and courageous stand and honesty of its leaders.

Proper, prudish and prudent as they may be, those qualities have been what attracted me to them.

Alas, when I read Malaysiakini headlines Join us, DAP urges BN reps it broke my heart to see the DAP joining the slimy ranks of frog hunters, embracing the disgusting tactic of encouraging party defections, a tactic that is subversive to the democratic ballot box.

The DAP is virtually saying “Join us and f* those people who voted for you on your BN ticket.”

In the 1994 Sabah state election, when Pairin’s PBS won by 2 seats, poor Pairin found himself becoming instead the leader of the opposition, thanks to UMNO subversive frog enticement. The UMNO-BN campaign in Sabah in that year was headed (in accordance with BN protocol) by a certain DPM.

His slimy legacy continues today, and while DAP’s Karpal Singh has maintained his principles against that shameful, sinister and subversive practice (to the democratic process), I have noted with growing trepidation that Lim Kit Siang had remained conspicuously mum while the champion of so-called political reforms (oh, such brazen blaphemy!) boasted openly about the pending success of his deformed politics.

I wrote about my concerns to a DAP MP but alas, the politician must just be too ‘busy’ (or too embarrassed) to even respond to a concerned supporter.

When I was a kid, my mum had always warned me about ‘mixing’ with bad hats – I should have passed her homily on to Uncle Lim, a man I had admired and still hope to continue to admire.

But while I had supported the DAP in the last 2 elections, my continuing support is not unconditional. Many of my politically like-minded friends have also voiced their concerns at a DAP drifting away from its principled roots.

Examine Uncle Lim’s political career – a man who had striven unceasingly, over decades, to reduce the BN’s 2/3 majority, with many wondering whether he would ever see that in his political career. We all had supported and prayed (even me the atheist) for his dream to come true before he retires.

Alhamdulillah, Hallelujah, Krishna Sakti, and Omitofu, he has been so blessed in the year of 2008.

Then, as an added icing to the cake, his old Project Tanjung was also surprising realized, which saw his DAP gaining majority rule in Penang and his son serving as Penang’s new Chief Minister.

We have been ecstatic he has achieved his dreams and more, without needing to compromise on the DAP principled stand. He certainly deserves all but alas, having attained his aspired goals why is he now keeping quiet, unlike his colleague Karpal Singh, on the shameful froggie wheeling and dealing.

Plato taught us 'I shall assume that your silence gives consent.' Now whether his silence has sent an unwanted signal or not, a branch of the DAP has now joined the sleazy slimy snakeoil salesmen in the political gutter.

To be truthful, instead of rejoicing on for him, some of us are had cringed with embarrassment each time he remained silent besides a former UMNO leader whilst the latter boasted about his UMNO-ish ways a la Sabah 1994, to seize power through the back door.

Could it be what Lord Acton had warned us, that ‘power corrupts …’, have affected the DAP (with the possible exception of Karpal Singh), for to remain silent in the presence of such disgraceful publicly-voiced intention to subvert the outcome of the ballot box is to signal acquiescence, agreement and approval?

One of my DAP-supporter mates tried to explain away the DAP's abberration from its known principled stand, stating that it has been the Sarawak branch, and afterall, haven't I said before that 'Lain padang, lain belalang'?

I retorted that the DAP should always be the principled DAP we had come to admire (till now), and not be excused when it has done the unthinkable, regardless of which branch. It might have been a case of 'Lain padang, ...' but even then, it shouldn't '... main belakang' of the outcome of the sacred ballot box.

Meanwhile, from Malaysiakini Top Blog corner, I see that Uncle Bernard of Zorro-Unmasked blog has lamentably posted To hell with principles, showcasing his frustration with the 'principles' of democratic process and the supremacy of the ballot box, when he perceives an evil corrupt and incompetent UMNO taking us down Jalan Zimbabwe.

While I respect Uncle Bernard, I caution him on his (no doubt a singularly rare) angry outburst, for what have really brought us thus far, with 5 PR state governments and a BN denied its 2/3 majority, have been ‘principles’, yes, the aim to do the right things, unlike a rapacious UMNO-led government.

Abandoning the ideology of ‘principles’ would not only be a gross betrayal of the voters, but precisely the way how the addict would typically start his or her downward spiral, you know, just a wee innocent puff, a lil’ harmless sip and a tiny party experiment with the ganja or heroin, and before he/she knows it, the wee/lil’/tiny whatever has escalated into sharing of HIV-AIDS contaminated needles in a shitty downtown toilet.

Yes Plato also told us that 'He who steals a little steals with the same wish as he who steals much, but with less power.'

Political power is addictive, but what keeps the good politician on the straight and narrow are principles. If we are merely at Lord Acton’s 'power corrupts; …' let us quickly take stock of ourselves and stop further decent into the UMNO-ish '…and absolute power corrupts absolutely.'

One man had been there before but we shouldn't allow him to drag us down into the same cesspool.

If you are impatient with processes, recall another man whom many hate (even till today), and have accused of gross impatience and his ‘to hell with principle and process’ bulldozing ways. What you have proposed is actually the same, and unwittingly justifying his actions.

So ..... what would be the difference between his alleged 'sins' and your proposed 'to hell with principles' action?

Just remember that C.S Lewis warned us, 'No clever arrangement of bad eggs will make a good omelette.'

… and don’t be bought over by the belief of King Frederick II of Prussia who too boasted, 'I begin by taking. I shall find scholars later to demonstrate my perfect right.'

28 comments:

  1. Ahha... I guess I was right in predicting who is the "group"... ;P

    Because I too am irked by the claims from DAP Sarawak... ;)

    Not quite sure how it works... because all this while even the Lim and Lim did not openly support the katak-hunting move from PKR... and I do not agree that Kit has changed his mind though...

    Maybe the DAP is federalist? that what DAP Sarawak says can not be accounted as what the DAP stands for?

    I don't know...

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  2. Don't be a blooming idealist, I tried and I failed...frustrated with my own kind, the hungry money making race and the selfish mentality to each his own attitude, I decided to leave Malaysia and tell them f... U! So don't be a too idealistic clown, you may mean well but, you will die of frustration. Politic is not meant to be clean, any action taken as long it serves the end I can live with it, especially getting rid of this BN mob.

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  3. We have come to the point where Lim Kit Siang will neither publicly condemn katak-hunting nor support it. But he understands well what is at stake. Either get on with the agenda or its Najib for PM.

    I wholeheartedly agree with Uncle Zorro.

    Rest assured, if and when the Regime Change occurs, DAP will be there to ensure its fair share of Ministerial positions and the many political appointee positions throughout the Federal apparatus.
    I rather suspect DAP will take over much of MCA/Gerakan's current turf. Port Klang authority Chairman anyone ? The pay's not bad, I heard, and the side benefits are excellent.

    Poor Kaytee will be campaigning for MCA or Gerakan next elections....I hear Chia Kwang Chye badly needs more support in Bukit Bendera...any takers ?

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  4. Anyway, the whole hair-pulling, angst-ridden exercise is a bit academic.
    My "Hantu" tells me Anwar has currently maybe 8-10 frogs, a long way from taking over in Putrajaya.

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  5. I think this was a major political mistake. All this while, even though kit siang seems to be playing footsies with Anwar, the DAP "looked" squeaky clean because they had never overtly supported lompat parti, except for Jeff Ooi whom everyone knows sometimes speaks without thinking, and noone takes him too seriously, and quite frankly some people wish he had just stayed the hell in Gerakan.

    Anyway, it is indeed very bad press, and unfortunately, all the little signals from LGE that lompat parti would not be supported (signals in the form of "we accept the authenticity of the present government") are all nullified. The only way to counter this now is a clear "no lompat" message, which noone in DAP wants to do because it will ruffle the feathers of the other PR allies... as it is some DAP reps are breaking ranks with PAS/PKR on oil policy, water policy, and the appointment of councilors. "Not team players", they will be labeled... and also, my personal favorite: "opposition mentality".

    But back to DAP Sarawak's shenanigans. It's far worse when you consider the proposed agenda:

    "To implement a chief minister rotation system whereby a Dayak, a Malay and a Chinese will take turn to be the Sarawak chief minister.

    The tenure of each CM will be for a full term after a state election. One full term will be quite sufficient for a CM to implement his policies and visions. Dayak will be the first to be the CM under the rotation system as they have the largest population."

    What kind of nonsense is that? I hope in the next GE they downgrade this fella to ADUN.

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  6. hi kaytee,

    as a DAP supporter myself, i hve to put my weight behind the recent shift in DAP policy against "frogs". with the imminent defections of umno fellas to PKR, it's smarter for DAP, politically, to strengthen its membership base too - in the new govt coalition. The only reason why DAP has been so successful over the past year has been its relative compromise. Same can be said for PAS & PKR. Extremity never works. And if DAP's past policies have been on Stubborn philosophy on "righteousness"...then, i think it's wise that DAP leaders wake up to the fact that 80% of the population does not buy its righteousness.

    It's a good change, to see DAP more flexible.

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  7. kaytee, this article is somehow more convincing than your previous posts on the perils of crossovers, to me at least. i guess the people have tasted power, and this time they want to see how far they can really go. pkr is obviously riding on the momentum of the last ge and fuel hike and what nots. can you blame them or the people. everybody wants a quick fix and it'll be the longest 4 or 5 years till the next election. in some creepy way, ai's promises mirrors those that aab made back in 2004, to save the country from previous pm's mega projects, cut down on unnecessary spending, tackle corruption. sounds like the same words coming out of a different mouth. and that was when times were good in 2004, now with issues affecting our everyday lives can you blame us for falling for the same line again?

    dap is obviously caught in the middle of all this. they're probably content to get penang and will try to do a good job there for their cv in the next ge. being a member of the pr, they can't really go against ai and risk being the bad guy in the eyes of the people. guess we understand now in some terms how mca is subservient to umno. people don't really care for democracy or the ballot box, they just want lower fuel prices.

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  8. Dear KTemoc,

    I admire DAP for its unyielding stand on principles.

    However, consider also the following:

    The Pakatan Rakyat has won 5 states. Yet, their administration is being intentionally hamstrung by entrenched Federal control. Barisan Nasional at the Federal and State level are doing their almighty best to scupper Pakatan Rakyat's rule.

    What do we do?

    You tell me.

    You quote idealistic Greek philosophers.

    But what do you think about this philosophy: "Sometimes, to achieve a higher good, you need to extraordinary things."

    Encouraging jumping is NOT unprincipled if it is for a good cause.

    If the jumpers are willing to turn a fresh leaf and serve the rakyat cleanly from now on, leaving behind the muck and dirt of Barisan Nasional, what is wrong with that? Where is the 'sin' in that, if it is for an ultimate good?

    You tell me.

    If someone is bludgeoning you to death, and will not stop, what do you do? Accept it out of a 'non-violent' principle and die? Or do you fight back?

    You tell me.

    I know you and I hold high-esteem for DAP and Lim Kit Siang for their high principles. But come on, when the enemy is playing dirty and is doing everything it can do bring you down, what do you do?

    When this is the only hope for real change, what would you do?

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  9. Dear Ktemoc and other readers,

    Take a look at this article:

    www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/articles.php?article=2163

    I fully agree with KittyKat46 and Prince Principles. Has there ever been a "successful" politician who has not compromised to some degree on his or her principles? Welcome to the real world of hardball politics! It is more realistic for us concerned citizens (and pontificating academics :) ) to keep politicians of the more progressive parties on the straight and narrow through NGO pressure and other forms of popular democracy (including blogging :) ).

    Phua Kai Lit

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  10. "It's a good change, to see DAP more flexible."

    Flexibility in terms of songkok, dealing with the Sultanate with kid gloves... yes absolutely. But "lompat parti" and "turun harga minyak esok" are lines that cannot be crossed because they have an immediate impact on the stability of the country. You want to talk about people's rights and freedoms, how about freedom from economic doom, which is all too likely if PR steals power through lompat parti and then aggravates the situation with "turun harga minyak esok". If this goes ahead, then DAP will have blood on it's hands.

    Furthermore, setting aside issues of morality or principles or precedents here... this is purely realpolitik: DAP cannot accept lompat parti. That will ruin it's image, and give an opening to Gerakan to stage a nice comeback.

    Anwar says "lompat"... DAP asks "how high"... sickening isn't it? Well guess what, that's a very easy message to sell :-(

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  11. Dear KTemoc, Phua Kai Lit and all readers,

    I mus stress that endorsing someone to jump or to 'convert' to join a good cause should NOT be regarded an evil, unprincipled action that must be done. It also does not mean that DAP politicians who acquiesce to switching sides have lost moral anchor.

    On the contrary.

    DAP does not become less principled at all if they help someone on the dark side to come over to the good side and promise to then on help serve the public cleanly and genuinely.

    In fact, if the change does good for the rakyat, then it is not unprincipled but is in fact a good deed, do you not agree?

    Some 'principles' are not set in stone. Sometimes, some principles should be adjusted to the circumstance that you are in. The larger, key consideration should be the intention ("for good or for bad?"), and whether an action causes serious hurt or not. As long as you are doing something for a genuinely greater good, and does not cause harm to the people involved in the decision, what's the problem?

    Will millions die of starvation or lose all their pension money if MPs switch sides? No.

    Will any single soul die or suffer if MPs switch to a team that has good intentions and wishes to bring genuine, positive change for the people? No.

    Is DAP or the Pakatan Rakyat inciting a military war to form the Federal government? No.

    Will Pakatan Rakyat be a worse or destructive administrator of the country compared to Barisan National? I don't think so.

    If they try to rebel and incite a war to take over, then with a resounding YES I will oppose them on grounds that it is destroys stability, it is not civil and it is a dirty, forceful way of taking over, and that a lot of people will suffer from it.

    But if you coax someone to become good, and join the side he feels will serve the rakyat most respectfully -- how is this wrong? Are you unfairly forcing the MP to join you? No.

    What's the problem?

    Where is 'freedom of choice'? Why not let the potential 'jumping' MPs choose and devide which political party/alliance they want to serve, as long as it is done for the good of the country. If they decide stay put, then they stay put. If they don't stay put,then they don't stay put.

    Simple and easy, everyone is happy.

    Can anyone systematically and rationally refute the propositions I've made here? I'd be interested to hear your counterargument.

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  12. Dear Ktemoc

    In terms of replying to Prince Principles, you go first, bro :)

    I share Ktemoc's wariness about
    DSAI. DSAI does say the "right things" to the right audiences.
    But he is definitely (by miles and miles) the "lesser evil" compared to the incumbent. Worth taking a risk on him. (Don't forget there is also the young, impatient "evil genius" behind the incumbent, the one all of us will heavily regret if his big dream comes to fruition. This guy will definitely speed us on the road to Zimbabwe).

    Phua Kai Lit

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  13. The cautiousness of a fair portion of the rakyat about Anwar Ibrahim is understandable. For a few reasons:

    1. He was part of UMNO in the past.
    2. He seems to be saying the "right things" to everyone.
    3. He and his coalition is untested as the nation's administrators and the people are wonder if he will be as effective as the incumbents are in leading the nation.

    I think we should give Anwar Ibrahim the benefit of the doubt.

    Why? For the following reasons:

    1. Which top Malaysian leader in your memory has publicly declared that he will work for all Malaysians, very explicitly saying that he will look after the welfare of the Chinese, Indians, Malays and all other races? Usually you hear very minor and token support for other races from Barisan Nasional leaders (e.g., "Kami akan mempertahankan hak Melayu! Pada masa yang sama kita akan pastikan kaum lain juga dijaga...").

    2. He has publicly declared his views and stands to very different audiences and they are all available on the Internet as videoclips and he can be held accountable to this. Now, as for the view that he is talking a "different tune" to "different people", that is probably politically justifiable, given that in Malaysia you have different races still fearful of other races and are protective of their own welfare and rights. So for a leader to effectively win the hearts of everyone, Anwar Ibrahim has to assuage the Malays, has to assuage the Chinese, the Indians, and others, without being seen as a traitor by his own race or by other races. Are you up to this difficult balancing act? How would you do it if you were in his shoes?

    3. In many other countries, new parties win elections and lead nations. So why think Pakatan Rakyat is not up for the task? Don't they have many experienced MPs in their midst? How smart is your regular UMNO leader in running the country anyway, considering that even Badawi is someone with only religious formal education?

    So I think we should give Anwar Ibrahim a bit of a break. Given the complex and delicate social circumstance in Malaysia, he is probably taking the most effective approach.

    Also, as another commenter here has said, how much more worse can Anwar Ibrahim be compared to the incumbents?

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  14. prince principles, you have completely missed the point. You said:
    "DAP does not become less principled at all if they help someone on the dark side to come over to the good side"

    Yes, that's correct. But what you are forgetting is this is about elected representative, and there is a third-party involved here: the voters. The voters who voted for a BN candidate in all likelihood did so to vote for BN. Whether we agree with their decision or not, it was their decision. So, for someone to leave BN and join another party is a violation of the rights of the voters. That is not some paltry idealistic principle... it is the foundation of our state. It should not be toyed with. To do so is to send a message to the world that we are "cincai" about our government, and besides being embarrassing, that will scare away high-value chain investors who are looking for long-term stability.

    You also said: "As long as you are doing something for a genuinely greater good, and does not cause harm to the people involved in the decision, what's the problem?"

    That is the "benevolent dictator" theory. No thanks. And anyway, you are not all-knowing and neither is Anwar Ibrahim, so you can't say that nothing bad will happen as a consequence of stealing power away from UMNO.

    "Where is 'freedom of choice'? "

    Hey, that's my question too. Why are you taking that right away from the voters?

    If any BN representative has a sudden change of heart about BN, let him/her resign from the elected position, switch party, and then stand for re-election.

    Unless there is a severe set of circumstances that really requires drastic action (e.g. imminent war) then there is no justification for PR to grab power through crossovers.

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  15. You guys want to trust the "Main Belakang" fella ?
    He'll promise you the moon to get into the seat he covets so much.
    After that you are all F*ked, from behind.

    Millions voted for BN on March 8.
    Get real, guys. Outside of internet blogs, the majority of ordinary people still prefer the reliable, responsible Barisan Nasional government.

    Are you guys so beholden to your idol that you are willing to subvert the election process ?

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  16. The argument is if the BN MP jumped then they are playing out the voters who voted them.

    but have we considered whether the voter is voting the BN candidate based on the right information and not swayed by propaganda?

    do we know whether the voters are the real voters and not the uncle who rise from the grave and the student who was ferried in to vote?

    do we know whether the voters who voted the BN candidate are given sufficient information to arrive at the correct decision?

    i support principles such as integrity and transparency but how do you preach this and use this on crooks and delusional individuals who think they have god given rights to plunder and rape the nations of her riches?

    one of your reader suggested converting the BN black-sheep into a luke skywalker.... why not?

    some BN flers maybe good flers but their destiny is controlled by the pirate ship they have boarded.. what is wrong in giving them an opportunity to change ship and repent at the same time to help the overall cause of making Msia a better place?

    as one great guru say - nothing in life is permanent.

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  17. KT,
    Your idealistic outlook and opposition to "jumping" is laudable and something I support, to some extent.

    What I want to say is that there are many areas in life where one is unable, no matter how much one desires it, to neatly see a thing as totally black or totally white. Often we have to accept some shade of grey.

    For instance, to terminate a life, any form of life, is bad. But let's say you have a dog which is old, sickly and in constant, unalleviable pain. Would you not, out of compassion, take it to the vet to be put to sleep?

    Imagine you are in a boxing match with an opponent who doesn't respect the rules, but hits below the belt, head butts, and do whatever to win. And despite protests from you and the spectators, the referee would not penalize your opponent. What would you do if you cannot just walk off the ring? Would you continue to fight abiding by the rules and face certain annihilation or do you give back to your opponent what he dishes to you?

    It's common knowledge that the evil scarlet prostitute which dominates the Barisan Nasional has a proclivity to using underhand tactics and unscrupulous behaviour in order to stay in power. See how they are using every ploy they can to frustrate and sabotage the Pakatan Rakyat's efforts to serve the people. Isn't it justifiable for the PR to give that nasty and evil prostitute a dose of its own medicine?

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  18. Agnos: "one of your reader suggested converting the BN black-sheep into a luke skywalker.... why not?"

    This really made me laugh... not for the argument you made, by how you elaborated on the analogue by describing those who come from the dark side to the good side as "luke skywalkers".

    Nice one bro!

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  19. kaytee,

    I am so glad that Uncle Lim also like DSAI. Ha ha ha.. Next time, kaytee, fill your heart with love, not hate, then you won't have your heart broken!

    Also, love God for He will always loves you no matter how you have sinned. Love only humans and they will keep breaking your heart.

    And my last advice, don't judge, you are not God and not any smarter than the most honorable Judge in this world. You are only human and learn to be humble. Cheers.

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  20. Int, 1:13 pm:

    Three points.

    1. You said: "But what you are forgetting is this is about elected representative, and there is a third-party involved here: the voters. The voters who voted for a BN candidate in all likelihood did so to vote for BN. Whether we agree with their decision or not, it was their decision. So, for someone to leave BN and join another party is a violation of the rights of the voters."

    That's a valid point. If the MP wants to do a "reverse-Anakin Skywalker" by returning to the good side, then he could step down from their post and stand in the by-election again, but under the PKR banner. But this is tedious lah. Let's say UMNO's Khairy Jamaluddin suddenly feels his heart is touched, and he quits his MP post and then we have by-elections. Khairy runs as a PKR candidate (this is a good possibility)and wins, as the people are won over by his shocking campaign speech that goes, "dulu saya BN tapi rasa bersalah sebab BN korup dan menipu rakyat. Undilah saya lagi sekali di bawah PKR sebab PKR memang hebat... saya sekarang pun dah jadi orang baik". So there is a good chance the same outcome is achieved if Khairy makes his "PKR memang hebat/saya dah jadi orang baik" confession and directly jumps ship in Parliament. Why waste time and public money?

    2. Agnos 1:42 pm makes a superduper argument. What if the decision of the BN voters in the 12th General Election was in the first place not based on the right information but propaganda; that there were "phantom voters" involved; or that goodies and gifts were lavished on them to sway their decision? Was this decision the right decision based on balanced information provision and fair competition? Was it a moral decision (is this acceptable to you)? Here we are, where we cannot even reveal the "phantom voters" because those in power hold the Election Commission by the throat. The system has broke down, ladies and gentleman. What do we do?

    3. Agnos and I Am Not Ruth point out that the rules of the game is not being observed and that the opponent is playing dirty. If your opponent is mercilessly playing dirty in every possible way imaginable, and if the opponent has even gamed the system (i.e., sudah kasi sama itu referee satu bagus punya botol whiskey) so that there is no way you can win or carry out all the good things that you want to do for the people, then what do you do? Stand there and take the blow watch injustice being carried out?

    Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary measures! Always the bad guys get to use 'special' powers to win. Why can't the good guys also use special powers to win? Come on, give us a break lah.

    4. As for your "benevolent dictator" theory: mana ada dictator here? We have a whole big coalition here which is appealing to the moral, righteous, good natures of the BN MPs: "Do you feel you are on the right side to do the best for the rakyat the right way? Do you feel now you cannot effect change from within? Do you feel guilty to God that you are with the scoundrels? Do you feel the Pakatan Rakyat spirit in your heart? Do you wanna come over and redeem yourself?"

    A benevolent dictator is someone who does something by force because he thinks it is the right thing to do for the people and nation even if it is against the will of the people. If this is the case, then doesn't this sounds very much like Abdullah Badawi and BN who is raising petrol prices because they think this is the right thing to do, even if the masses suffer or protest?

    So who is the benevolent dictator now -- BN or Pakatan Rakyat? So if BN acts like the benevolent dictator, it is okay for you, but if it is the reverse, not okay for you is it?

    Come on lah!

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  21. Folks,
    Constitutionally, an MP who resigns is barred from re-standing in the bye-election which results from his resignation.

    This amendment was put in place after the last case 20 years ago, when Shahrir Samad resigned from UMNO and as an MP, to recontest as an Independent. The time barrier is the same as that of an MP disqualified for other reasons - conviction, incapacitation etc. - 5 years.

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  22. BN ddoes not respect nor practise fairplay. When a bully (BN) hits you under the belt, don't tell me you can't retaliate by hitting him back where it hurts. Come on KT Mok, the BN govt are not doing a good job at all, to me they have done nothing of worth since being re-elected. Show them the door, only after that will they learn the errors of their ways.

    Zul

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  23. Kittykat46:

    Thanks for the info that MPs who resign cannot stand again in a by-election for 5 years.

    All the more reason for MPs to jump!

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  24. Who was it who coined the term "Ketuanan Rakyat""

    Haven't the Rakyat spoken on 08 March 2008?

    So ... as we can see, the slogan "ketuanan rakyat" is just as bullshitty as the slogan "reformasi"!

    He's good at bullshit slogans if not anything.

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  25. "Constitutionally, an MP who resigns is barred from re-standing in the bye-election which results from his resignation."

    That constitutional requirement is unfortunate, but it does not justify subversion of the ballot box. It just means some BN reps, having seen the light, should retire from politics and enjoy the good karma from their bold decision :-)

    Or, they can stand somewhere else.

    As for whether the voters were deceived etc, yes that is a consideration and it's an important problem to resolve, but the solution there is education and expansion of alternative media, not to just ignore their opinion because we think they are ignorant.

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  26. Int said: "but the solution there is education and expansion of alternative media, not to just ignore their opinion because we think they are ignorant."

    Yes! This is how it should be, given a truly democratic set-up. But currently, the system is skewed. Education and the expansion of alternative media is going on, and that is good. But how long before the people -- all the people, rural and urban, the politically connected and the politically unconnected -- learn from it?

    When the country falls to its knee and collapses?

    To bring about change when irreversible devastation has been done?

    Sometimes, you may need to "speed up" the process through the exercise of "extraordinary" measures, as I've mentioned above.

    And as for KTemoc:

    Yes, Ketuanan Rakyat -- where all the rakyat's welfare will be looked after, good governance, transparency, no 2nd class citizen feelings, etc. All this can be achieved after the 'jumping'. Can it not?

    Think about it.

    Here's also a good movie to watch: Z, by Costas Gavras. It is a political film based on a real-life political problem in Greece. Enjoy, if you can get hold of it.

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